


Seizing the Moment

by Aerilon452



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Complete, F/M, One Shot, Pre-War with the Saviors, Romance, Seizing the moment, Sex, Slightly A/U
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 23:09:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerilon452/pseuds/Aerilon452
Summary: Carol and Ezekiel take a moment and give in to the connection growing between them





	Seizing the Moment

All of the Kingdom was celebrating, in doors, and without too much noise. Even though the fight against the Saviors had ended in their favor, the Walkers were still a reality, and they were still drawn to a great ruckus. Carol didn’t join in the festivities. Rather, she made her way towards King Ezekiel’s room. She wanted to see how he was handling things after starting a war he never intended to fight. His door was open, and from her vantage point she could see he was sitting on the edge of his bed, his forearms resting on his knees, with his head lowered. If she wanted, she could stay where she was just watching him. 

Ezekiel looked up, drawn by the weight of a familiar stare. Carol. The flames of the candles cast shadows across her face. She looked mysterious standing there. “You don’t have to linger there in the shadows,” he called out. She nodded, coming into his room. Before she reached him, she closed the door sealing them in silence. Somehow, Ezekiel sensed that that would not be the case for long. Carol had this peculiar look on her face. It was something he’d not seen from her before. “What is it?” he asked, resting his hands on his knees.

“I spoke with Morgan,” Carol said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Now that we’ve joined in the war with the Saviors, he has a few ideas on how to make it harder for them to get at the Kingdom.” She shut the door, sealing them inside, and kept the errant sounds of the celebration muffled. Closing the distance between them, she came to stand before him while he yet held his place on the edge of the bed. She could see his fingers curling into the blanket.

“And what, pray tell, are these preparations?” Ezekiel asked. He knew that had to be taken care of, but he’d rather be the one to broach the topic with Morgan. It was his responsibility.

“When our group was still in Georgia,” Carol looked away as she spoke, moving towards the window in the King’s bedroom, “Rick went back to his home town, only to find it taken over by traps. Morgan set them. Mostly they were for the walkers. The ones he had for humans were choke points where he would corner people, and take what they had. It was effective, or so Rick said.”

“And he wishes to recreate that… here?” Ezekiel asked, feeling uncomfortable because he knew her answer. He chose to defy the Saviors, to aid Alexandria, and jumping into a war. Now, he had to turn his attention to defending the Kingdom. Tiredly, he lowered his head, glaring at the floor.

“It’s a stop gap measure,” Carol said lightly. She was in favor of any trick Morgan had. If it meant they lived, then she would go and help him. Turn from the sight of the night outside the window, she went back to stand before the King as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“How far has he come in implementing these measures?” Ezekiel asked with a sigh. He was tired, and the war had yet to begin in earnest. The weight of so many lives yet to be taken were weighing on his shoulders already. Having Carol with him helped.

“He’s been busy scouting the surrounding areas, looking for defensible positions, and finding places to funnel the Saviors into, should they come here to attack.” Carol answered, and then sighed. “Ezekiel, he’s going start building the traps, you know that.” She reached out, taking his chin to get him to look at her. 

Ezekiel nodded, knowing what Carol said to be true, “I’m aware.” Tomorrow he would make it a point to go and begin to consult with Morgan on where the traps were to be set. He didn’t want to alarm his people, and he didn’t want to turn this place into an armed camp. 

Carol was about to take her hand from his face, when he stopped her. He stood up, placing his body close to hers. It had her heart racing. “Why aren’t you out there, celebrating?” she asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound too breathy. He had a way of pushing her out of her comfort zone without even trying.

“I do not find much that is to be celebrated,” Ezekiel answered truthfully. “We saved Alexandria, but I also put my people in harm’s way.” That was what truly bothered him. He feared becoming the King he used to be; the one who risked his people needlessly. If the tide of war turned, he might very well end up as King of the ashes.

“Yes,” Carol breathed out. She put herself in a position where she would have to kill, have to protect people. This time, it was for Ezekiel. He was the good man she’d been looking for. She chose to be in the kingdom for him. Carol chose Ezekiel.

Ezekiel had no reply. He wanted to put no more thought into carnage, battle plans, or the inner workings of Morgan’s shattered mind. There was something he wanted more than his next breath.

“What are you going to do?” Carol asked, not daring to back away from him. She liked the way he made her feel. He was standing so close that she could feel the brush of his chest against hers each time he took a breath.

“Kiss you,” Ezekiel replied. He was being bold, he knew that. Tonight, he was willing to throw caution to the wind to find out if she was as attracted to him, as he was to her. Lightly he rested his hands on her shoulders, waiting to see if she would deny him. He wanted to see if she was going to run away.

“Then do it…” Carol placed her hands on his chest, and no sooner had she started to speak than he claimed her lips in a strong kiss that had her knees going weak. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She felt him turn, felt him laying her back on his bed. Her stomach fluttered with what was about to happen, and she wanted it to keep happening. There had been this thing between them since the moment she set eyes upon him.

Ezekiel broke the kiss, holding himself above her with his knees braced on the bed between her parted thighs. She had her arms above her head, causing her shirt to ride up. He could see a hint of her abdomen. “What a perfect place to start,” Ezekiel mused. Teasingly, he inched the hem up exposing her navel.

Carol closed her eyes, letting herself feel. She felt his lips touch her skin right above the waist band of her pants. The whiskers of his beard scraped pleasingly against her skin. She dug her fingers into the blanket, her chest rising and falling a little faster. Her stomach muscles quivered when he moved higher. Then he stopped, and she had to open her eyes. His grinning face swam into view. “Is that it?” she asked, her voice shaking with anticipation.

“Oh, no…” Ezekiel shook his head. “I’m just getting started.” With one fluid motion, he stripped off the white shirt he wore and tossed it away. She sat up, allowing him access to her shirt. Carefully, so as not to scare her away, he slowly pulled it up and over her head. The sight of her pale skin glowing in the candle light made him hunger for her more. 

Carol set her hands to Ezekiel’s waist, her nails pricking his skin lightly. He leaned over her, the tips of his dreadlocks touching her shoulders seconds before he kissed her again. She moaned into the press of their lips. It was gentle, with an underlying hint of domination. Before, such intentions would have frightened her. Not now. Not when she knew who she was, and how much strength she had. It fueled the fire in her blood. Her hands came up, cupping his face, and pulled him back down to the bed with her. This was what she had been missing; the comforting weight of a man on top of her. It had been a long time since a man looked at her with desire shining in his eyes.

Ezekiel started slow, his lips nibbling along her jaw. Then, he moved to the side of her neck, his tongue teasing her throbbing pulse. Carol moaned, tilting her head to the side to give him better access. Travelling down, he kissed the crook of her neck as his hand came up, and his index finger curled under the strap of her bra. Ezekiel puled the thin strap across her shoulder, following it with his lips. He wanted her perfectly aroused, and accepting of his touch tonight. 

Carol couldn’t feel anything except for Ezekiel, the way he touched her, the way he kissed her skin. Every time she exhaled, her breath was shaky with the desire he was carefully stoking inside her. She placed her hands on his chest, pushing lightly to get him to stop for a moment. He nodded, getting off of her, and stood beside the bed once more. Then, in a brave move, Carol stood before him, her eyes locked with his, she reached behind her to unhook the clasps of her bra. Without a word being uttered, she let the article of clothing fall to the floor. 

Ezekiel felt all the air leave his lungs in one single exhalation. He didn’t stop her when she took his hand, bringing it up to place it to her breast. Her skin was heated, and she was shaking. He slipped his other arm around her waist to close to gap between them. Eagerly, his lips sought hers, sought the taste of her. While he ravished her mouth with an intense hunger he’d not known in years, her hands did not remain idle. She yanked the button of his pants open, drawing a growl from him. 

Carol smirked wickedly when Ezekiel pulled back. He took his hands from her, relinquishing control to her for the moment. She was free to do anything to him she pleased. In the silence, the sound of the zipper hissed loudly between them. Carol slipped her hands under the waist band and pushed the khaki material down his hips until he was stepping out of them. 

Ezekiel exhaled a shuddering breath. The touch of Carol’s hands had his body burning for her. He held her gaze, mirroring her smirk as he opened the front closure of her pants. His hands slipped around to her back, sliding down inside her trousers to cup her backside. Gently, he kneaded the firm flesh drawing a moan from her. 

Carol pushed her pants down her hips, letting them fall to the floor. Kicking them away, she laid down on the bed and stared at him. Her heart was beating wildly out of control just from the sight of him alone. He made her nervous and lustful at the same time. She held out her hand to him, wanting him next to her. Even though she could die tomorrow, at least she would have known what it was like to be with him tonight. 

Ezekiel joined her on the bed, stretching out beside her. He rested his hand on her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart. Lifting his hand up, he kept the tips touching her skin. He lightly drew them down the center of her torso, over her abdomen, and down between her thighs. There he stopped to search her gaze. She nodded, giving him her consent. While he watched her face, his middle finger slid between her moist nether lips. 

Carol pushed her head back into the pillow. His touch was light, but it was powerful, and it served to make her body burn hotter for him. Next, he slipped his finger inside her, testing her depths. Carol sank her teeth into her bottom lip to help muffle her sudden moan. Her hand pressed down on his forearm, her short nails biting into his dark skin. “I want you…”

Ezekiel felt his body tighten, desire demanding to be sated. He reigned in his control while his finger pumped into her a few more times. She needed a little more teasing to make herself ready for him. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any undue pain. She would be in a great deal of discomfort as it was. Her body had not had the touch of a lover in some time. Leaning over her, he took her lips in a passionate kiss.

Carol lost herself in the feel of him plundering her mouth. She felt him move over her, welcoming him into the cradle of her body. He was poised at her entrance, hard and ready. Carol lifted her knee’s, resting them against his hips giving him a little nudge. In the span of a short breath, she felt the head of him push into her. The pain mixed with the first tendrils of pleasure had her moaning his name.

Ezekiel had to force his body to remain still. The first few inches of his manhood were sheathed inside Carol, and it was intoxicating. He drew out of her to give her a moment free of the discomfort he knew came from his possession of her body. At her urging, he resumed laying his claim to her. This time, her body accepted more of his intrusion into her warm depths. 

Carol placed her hands on Ezekiel’s chest, slipping them up to his shoulders. “I… won’t… break…” she gasped, wanting all of him inside of her. There, in his yes, she could see him wrestling with his desire not to hurt her and the driving need he had to take her. Then with a feral growl, he thrust into her. She cried out, uncaring how loud the sound was. Her knees tightened on his hips, holding him in place. 

The first move Ezekiel made sought to rob him of the rest of the air in his lungs. Carol had taken him in, and held him in a tight grip, but his body demanded to sate it carnal hunger for her. The instinctual drive he had took over. In and out, he took them to the height of pleasure until he could almost feel every nerve in his body ignite; exploding with ecstasy.

Carol couldn’t keep her moans contained. Each of his thrusts had her body coming that much closer to falling over the edge. Her release was near, and so was his. She drew him down so that she might kiss him, thus quieting some of her louder cries of pleasure. The King readily complied, but all too soon he turned the tide of the kiss, using it to heighten her ardent passions. He powered in and out of her, hitting all the right nerves deep inside of her. She didn’t fully understand it yet, but he was weaving binding tendrils around her heart so strong that she sensed she wouldn’t want to leave him after this.

Ezekiel thrust into her once more all the way to the hilt, and that was when his orgasm triggered hers. He buried his face against the side of her neck while her arms locked around the back of his neck, holding him in place. His body shook from the power of his release. Time seemed to stop, letting them savor the moment, the intimacy, and the warmth of their flesh mated together. He barely had enough presence of mind to move his languid body to her side. The last thing he wanted to do was make it hard for her to breathe. 

Carol couldn’t stop him from lying beside her. Her body felt thoroughly used in the best possible way. She hadn’t moaned that loud when Tobin had been her lover. A small, smirk crossed her lips when she felt Ezekiel’s lips placing tiny, butterfly kisses to her shoulder. Then his hand took one of hers, lacing their fingers together. With a concentrated effort she opened her eyes, but her heavy lids only lifted halfway. Tobin had never been that affectionate with her afterwards. Sadly, he’d been a two-pump chump, and then he was out for the count leaving her unsatisfied. That was not the case with Ezekiel. Her body was sated, completely. 

Ezekiel felt her gaze resting upon him. It drew his eyes open so that he might stare at her in return. She had this small smirk gracing her lips that tugged at his heart. He wished this night wouldn’t end so that he could keep seeing that satisfied gleam in her eyes. Lovingly, he kissed her brow, and closed his eyes. The tips of his fingers ran up and down her spine as they breathed in and out together. Ezekiel had taken the occasional lover, but none had matched the power or excitement Carol brought to his bed. The way they touched was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Now that he knew what it was like to be intimate with her, he wasn’t sure how he would ever let her go. 

Carol wasn’t going to think about tomorrow. All she was concerned with was what would happen in the bed she was sharing with her King. She was going to lie with him, listen to the sound of his heart, and let herself forget about the dead outside their walls. Nothing could touch them right now, and she wasn’t going to let her brain overthink what just happened. She was going to bask in the afterglow as she slipped into sleep.

 

DAWN:

 

Ezekiel pulled himself from sleep, and from the warm embrace of Carol, getting out of bed. He picked up a soft blanket from the floor so that he could cover her with it and keep the slight chill of the room from waking her. Then, he dressed in his khaki pants, before going to stand next to the window to watch the sun rise that heralded the arrival of a new day. Being King meant he had endured a lot of sleepless nights. Normally, he could handle it, and often welcomed the quiet of his kingdom. This morning was not going to be one of those times, not when he had a woman in his bed that he wanted to be curled up with.

One thing Ezekiel knew that he had to accomplish today was speaking to Morgan. It pained him to see the man so tortured over young Benjamin’s death. He was not at fault. The Saviors had chosen to kill the boy and further their image of barbaric dictators. He had been foolish to think that he could maintain peace with them as they systematically made his people weaker each passing week. Even though he was loathe to go to war for fear of what it meant for his people, Ezekiel knew it was the only outcome. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but one he had to none the less. He would be strong for his people and he would hold true to his pledge to Rick, to Alexandria, and the Hilltop.

Carol rolled over, her eyes opening with a groan filling the silence of the room. Being alone in Ezekiel’s bed was not what she had in mind. She saw him standing over by the window, a scowl on his face. “Hey…” she slurred, gaining his attention. Carol sat up and wrapped the micro fur blanket around her before she got up to go to him. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Ezekiel answered, pulling Carol in front of him, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “I often spend many a sleepless night planted by this window to watch the sun rise.” Gently, he started to sway back and forth as he rested his chin on her shoulder. 

“Hmm…” Carol mumbled. “I thought it might have something to do with Morgan, and what we talked about before we became distracted.”

“That has also been on my mind,” Ezekiel admitted, after being caught. He laughed lightly. “You’ve already said he will proceed regardless of what I say, but still I feel we should talk to him.”

“Maybe we don’t,” Carol suggested, turning in his embrace. 

“Carol…” Ezekiel drew out her name, but he had a sneaking suspicion she was going to make a good point.

“For us to win this, we need every devious trick we can pull off. Morgan has more than a few of those in his bag, but for him to do that, he has to be a little less than sane.” Carol said. Rick had told her all about Morgan and the clever mess he made of the little town Rick had used to protect. She could only guess at the pure madness Rick had witnessed back then. 

“Can you assure me that after we win, we’ll be able to bring Morgan back from whatever dark torment he’s trapped in?” Ezekiel asked.

“He came back before,” Carol answered. 

“How can you be so confident?” Ezekiel inquired. He ran his hands up and down her sides. 

“At Alexandria, he was calm, rational, and he easily assimilated into the daily life there.” Carol explained. 

“That was then, and this is now. Circumstances have changed.” Ezekiel argued gently.

“I’ve seen a madness like his before,” Carol said, and at Ezekiel’s questioning gaze, she continued with her tale. When she spoke to him, she knew she could tell him things and he would keep them to himself. “When we were still in Georgia, we lived briefly in a prison. It had thick walls, fences, and enough space that we thought we could stay there safely. Upon exploring the prison, we found that five prisoners had managed to survive. One thing led to another and we were fighting walkers….” Carol trailed off, taking a deep steadying breath. She put some distance between her and Ezekiel, and returned to the bed. She sat on the edge.

“You do not have to finish relating your tale to me, if the memories are too painful to relive…” Ezekiel took his place in the arm chair near his bed. He would give Carol her space until she desired him near her again.

Carol ignored him, “During this attack, Rick’s wife went into labor, but she didn’t make it. When he found out, something in him just broke, and it got so bad that he was seeing things… If Rick can come back from that, then Morgan can come back from this.” 

“At least you offer hope for our friend’s recovery,” Ezekiel sighed. It pained him to see Morgan in such a state, knowing that the greater good demands that he allow his comrade to remain teetering on the brink of full blown insanity.

Carol let the ‘friends’ comment slide. She and Morgan weren’t there yet, but she could see that Ezekiel counted him as such. Absentmindedly, she used her foot to move her pants back and forth on the floor simply because she lacked anything better to say. Leaving Morgan teetering on the edge of full blown madness was in their best interest. 

“I will heed your sage counsel,” Ezekiel said as he rose from the chair. He went to her, and like she had done to him, he gripped her chin and moved her had back so that she was looking at him. Ezekiel could see that she was fighting to stay awake. He too felt the need to lie back down and all blissfully into slumber. This once, as the sun had yet to fully rise, he was going to give him and retire to bed once more. 

Carol nodded, and then scooted back until she was resting her head on the pillow. Ezekiel moved behind her, draping his arm over her waist. For once she wasn’t going to fight falling back to sleep. There was still much to do, but it could wait until a more reasonable hour. Plus, Carol was sure many of the denizens of the Kingdom were still passed out from a night celebrating. She and the King could follow their lead and sleep a little while longer.


End file.
